One year after opening, Hospice House gets a name — The Robert and Helen Ball Hospice House

Thursday

Aug 22, 2013 at 4:00 PM

What started as just a dream for Hospice of the Eastern Upper Peninsula is now very much reality as the organization marks one year of operation for its Hospice House.

The home for terminally ill community members to spend their last days has served more than 50 families since opening its doors in August 2012 and now, thanks to the generosity of a Mackinac County couple, it has a name: The Robert and Helen Ball Hospice House.

Robert and Helen (Bumstead) Ball of Hessel — who surprised the community when they donated $100,000 to Hospice House during its open house last summer — have donated an additional $200,000 for the naming opportunity and to close out the $900,000 capital campaign. The couple presented a check to the Hospice of the EUP board of directors this week in memory of Helen’s mother and sister, both of whom received hospice care locally.

“My mother received hospice care at home,” Helen said. “She wouldn’t stay anywhere else. And shortly after she died, my sister needed hospice care…It made us feel that we should do something for hospice, so we did.”

Helen’s sister stayed in a room reserved for Hospice of the EUP patients in Hearthside Assisted Living in Sault Ste. Marie before Hospice House became available.

“The Sault area has been so good to us,” Bob added, “so we thought we should give something back to this community.”

Helen was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie. Bob’s family moved to the area when he was a boy. After graduating from Sault Area High School in 1953, he started working for Weir Moving and Storage before eventually starting his own business, Ball Moving and Storage, which expanded to Marquette and the Keweenaw. These days, the Balls spend winters in Florida and summers in Hessel. The couple has three children and four great-grandchildren.

Their generous donation is having an immediate effect, according to Hospice of the EUP Executive Director Tracey Holt.

“It is a relief to know that the mortgage is close to being paid for and we can continue to concentrate on fundraising for operations,” Holt said, noting that all services provided by Hospice of the EUP are free of charge.

“The donation from Mr. and Mrs. Ball is so generous and it means a lot to the families in this community.”

Holt said she is humbled by the Balls and many others “who are willing to do this – not just to give back to Hospice, but to our community.”

Since opening last August, 53 patients have resided at the Robert and Helen Ball Hospice House for as little as one day to as long as 109 days. The average length of stay is about two weeks. Of the 53 patients, 18 were armed services veterans.

One of those veterans was Rudyard native Paul Joseph Savoie, 89, who died June 26 after a 15-day stay.

“We turned to hospice not knowing much about it,” said Sheriff Bob Savoie, Paul’s son. “We were so impressed with the care he received and the atmosphere that was provided for all of us. It was a calm, relaxing atmosphere, and they provided the pain management that is so essential. No one likes to see a loved one suffer.”

Savoie said he was also impressed by the services made available to his family members, including counseling.

“Every day when I drive by here, I have fond memories of this place. Our community is very lucky to have it,” he said.

Family members of Katherine Drake, currently a resident at Hospice House, said they appreciate the memories they are creating in the home. Recently, they cooked Thanksgiving dinner there for more than 20 family members and friends.

“It is so wonderful to sit here and have dinner with her, just like we did at her house when we were kids,” said Linda Hoath, Katherine’s niece. “Hospice lets us come up here and be a family. We laugh a lot and we will have great memories. It’s a relief to have the comfort of knowing that we can drop in anytime to talk, visit, and watch TV with her.”

Thanks to the generosity of the Ball family and many others like them, the mortgage is down to only $100,000; however, fundraising for operations continues. With all services being free of charge to residents of Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac counties, the need is great.

“We still need $250,000 each year for operations and services provided not just at the house, but in patients’ homes,” said Holt. “These funds continue to be raised through memorials, donations, United Way of the EUP, and fundraising.”

Dave Firack, chief executive officer of Old Mission Bank, which held the Hospice House mortgage, put the value of the facility and its services into financial perspective.

“I recently spoke with a group in the northern Lower Peninsula that is looking into providing hospice rooms for patients. The cost to families will be $4,500-$6,000 per month, pre-paid, no refunds. When you multiply that times the 53 families served here, that is a tremendous amount of benefit.”

Firack applauded the Hospice board for “having the courage to take the steps to build this house. It was a risk, but the entire community will benefit more than you will ever know.”

“We continue to thank the community for their amazing support,” Holt said. “This year has been more than we ever imagined it to be. And now with this generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Ball, it’s been phenomenal. We can’t thank them and the community enough for their help.”